Question: If the sales tax in your city is $8.9\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$45$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Solution: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${8.9\%} \times {\$45} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $8.9\%$ is equivalent to $8.9 \div 100$ $8.9 \div 100 = 0.089$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.089$ $\times$ $$45$ = $$4.01$ You would pay $$4.01$ in sales tax.